Pros: Optics second to none, light weight, comfortable, durable, too cool
Cons: Folks will try them and realize they can't live up to that much cool
The Bottom Line: The G-15 lens is second to none. The frames are light and durable. The glasses are all day comfortable. Is there anything not to like?
toolguy1963's Full Review: Ray Ban Rb2140 Sunglasses
Corrected: Last month I did a review of the Ray Ban 2132 sunglasses. Did I sound like a disgruntled old coot upset with the changes of the day? Well I am. But I may have gone off the handle a week too soon. Although Id purchased both the Ray Ban 2113 Originals and 2132 Wayfarers and found neither of them in the proper standard old 5022 Wayfarer size 㦢mm” I kept hoping and searching and eventually buying a couple of old “like new” sets off of E-bay to keep me going.
Now a couple of weeks ago I’m holding bags of my wife’s purchases in a shopping mall in Valencia Spain and my eyes start to wander about. The tall slender Spanish sales clerk is walking past a rack of Ray Bans and as I follow her with my gaze at about the midpoint I catch what looks to be a set of 5022’s on the rack somewhere in the depth of my vision.
Back it up, wait, are those some old stock 5022’s that never got picked up? I move swiftly across the aisle and into the store. The “may I help you sir” queries totally ignored I go directly to the rack and pick up the glasses. Looking into the temple piece I read 2140. Oh dang. Fooled. But I look closer no these frames are smaller than the 2113’s. They look like 5022’s. There’s a Ray Ban logo on the temple. They can’t be 5022’s. Maybe knock offs. I move close to the exterior door so the sensor will trip and open the two large sliding plate glass doors and then push the glasses onto my face. The brilliant Spanish sun radiating the earth like a thermonuclear explosion is instantly tamed. Ive worn the G15 lens glasses for a good thirty years now. I know these lenses. They are not knock offs. They’re the real deal.
I pull out my E-bay acquired 5022’s and match them up. Exact! These are reincarnations of the 5022’s. A closer look even reveals a sub-code. 50022. OMG. Luxotica is using their own numbering system and following it up with a B&L derived sub-code. Probably so that informed representatives know what they’re looking at.
And as it turns out, that was my lucky day. The sales girl came over and started asking me if I needed help and I began to bombard here with Ray Ban questions. The poor girl was probably still just a gleam in her parent’s eyes when Ray Ban 5022’s were at the height of their popularity in the mid/late 80’s. She had no answers but mentioned that the Ray Ban rep just happened to be there that day and she could get her. And that she did.
My questions to her were these. What the heck? How come these are 2140’s and called Originals and the 2113 “Originals” I bought five years ago are so much larger. Her answer. The Originals name was confusing old geezers and causing a bombardment of complaints to Luxotica, ”Hay, they did get all my gripe mail after all” They figured it would be easier to re-release the 5022 size glasses under that moniker and make us old guys happy.
Question two. So is that everywhere because I haven’t found these in Germany yet or been able to get them through Ray Ban USA. Her answer. Yes all of Europe will see them and she does not know about the U.S. market but feels confident as supplies of the old 2113 are sold off that they will be replaced with New Originals 2140.
I was happy and didn't waste any time buying a pair at the jacked up Euro rate. Finally Luxotica did the right thing and I was not going to sit back on my haunches and risk having them pulled off the market for lack of sales. I also found out from the Luxotica sales rep that the 2140 will be offered in classic black, but also in tortoise “crinkly brown” red and white. On top of that they will also be offered with grey polarized or brown lenses as well as the original G-15 lens. This makes the Wayfarer more attractive to a larger cross section of potential buyers.
For me classic black and the original G-15 lens is the only way to go. I can’t wear polarized lenses and brown lenses, well, yuk! The G-15 lens was originally developed for the U.S. Navy pilots and gives the most accurate color spectrum while reducing glare and the bright rays of the sun. It’s a UV protective lens and considered the most optically correct lens on the market. Although they are not the most scratch resistant lenses available they do provide significant impact protection and with a little care will last for years. Actually most of my Wayfarers have worn out temple hinges before the lens became to scratched for use.
The frames of the new Original Wayfarer 2140 is now molded plastic. The plastic is shinier than the old acetate 5022 frame and lighter as well. Surprisingly the molded in nose piece on the new glasses grips the bridge of my nose much better than the old models do. The plastic just sticks better when I start sweating than the acetate did. Also the hinges are much tighter than I ever remember the 5022’s ever being.
The temple pieces when opened have a pre curve already in them. If you look down over the glasses you can see them arcing in. I’m sure part of this has to do with the frames being made of plastic. It is much more difficult to bend those arms in than it was with the old glasses. The acetate frames had almost straight arms that could be bent fairly easily to the desired shape. In any case the temple pieces have the traditional contoured arc over the ear built right into them that allow them to ride up and over the ear and hold the glasses in place. With the slight inward bend toward your cranium they stay in place very well.
What clues you in right away that these are not 5022’s are the small chrome Ray Ban logos on each temple. There’s also a Ray Ban logo in white on the right top corner of the right lens and where B&L used to etch their logo into the left lens there is now an RB etched in its place. All these are little styling cues to let the whole world know that your wearing Ray Bans.
So the proper Wayfarer is back. Now I can stop sending the Luxotica folks threatening and nasty e-mails. What should I turn my attention to now? Before I get done I hope we’re not to confused. I know all the numbering and naming between B&L and Luxotica can be confusing. So here’s a quick run down so you know what you’re getting.
The 5022. This was the original Wayfarer that came out in 1953 made by Bausch and Lomb. The original and probably the best! It was discontinued a few years back when Luxotica took over Ray Ban.
The 2132. A smaller sized lens version of the Wayfarer that took the name Wayfarer under Luxotica.
The Wayfarer II by B&L later changed to Wayfarer Originals or 2113 by Luxotica. These are a larger lens version of the Wayfarer and I find them to be too heavy and difficult to keep in place.
The 2140. Also Wayfarer Originals. A copy of the 5022 and the only model deserving of the moniker Originals.
Recommending is dead easy. If you need a light weight and durable pair of sunglasses and want the sharpest and most correct color spectrum reaching your retina, hands down the Wayfarer 2140’s are really the way to go.
The original Wayfarer is back! The Ray-Ban& Original Wayfarer sunglasses are a modern take on Ray-Ban's classic design. They're crafted using ultra-li...More at Dick's Sporting Goods
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